Earlier this summer, I was on a hike with a friend and mentioned that while we’d started at about 9,000 feet, we’d reach an elevation of 12,000 feet by the end of the trail. My friend replied, “That’s a fact I just don’t believe.” Yes, it sounds silly, and of course, we laughed about it….
My daughter started her senior year of high school this fall. With college fast approaching, I’ve had some fun discussions with her and family friends about future professions. One thing keeps coming up: It’s the 21st century, and our daughters may still earn less than men for doing the same work. When my daughter graduates…
Just about anything that comes with the “alternative” label is automatically enticing to plenty of people. Alternative rock spoke to so many music fans that it became more or less mainstream in the 1990s. On a smaller scale, consider the people you know living alternative lifestyles, like the cousin in the nudist colony or your…
I recently went backpacking in the Uinta Mountains. It’s a range of gorgeous peaks close to my home in Park City, Utah. A group of friends planned to spend a few days in the backcountry, so we got together to discuss everything we’d need for the trip. We had a lot of experience hiking and…
“I’m bored.” You’ve said it. I’ve said it. Your children or nieces or nephews have said it. Our usual response to these two little words is to recommend doing something about it. You tell children to go outside. You pick up a new book or go to the movies. I head out on my mountain…
“We should just move to the country and live in a tent.” I mention this idea to my wife every time I’m confronted with one of the realities of living in Park City, Utah. It seems like almost everyone here is an athlete of some sort, and they take their sports seriously. From mountain biking…
When I lived in Las Vegas, there were billboards everywhere advertising different casinos. One of the most common was the type that promised “98 percent payouts.” I remember thinking how amazing that was. After all, 98 is a lot of percents! It seemed like a really good deal — until I thought about it for…
Years ago, a friend with an incredibly successful career as a sales representative shared a story about what she and her brother called their W-2 Derby. It’s exactly what it sounds like. At the end of each year, they’d pull out their W-2s and compare who had the higher income. There were even rules for…
Over time, we’ve come to accept the concept that knowledge is power. In theory, when we have more knowledge, we can make better decisions. But for many of us, there can be a disconnect between knowing something and acting wisely on that knowledge. As you probably know from experience, it happens often with money. Last…
For more than a decade, my family and I have gone to Jackson Lake in Wyoming for what’s become our favorite summer vacation. Because the trip includes a boat, we make arrangements to rent a mooring for the boat so we don’t have to take it in and out of the water each day. Last…
Expectations are funny things. When we start to expect something, we also start to count on it. Once we start counting on something to happen, we start to make plans. Then, if we aren’t careful, we even start to act as if it’s already a reality. In our minds it becomes something that’s guaranteed to…
In February 2012, a group of experienced skiers headed into the backcountry near the Stevens Pass resort in Washington State to look for untracked powder. It was a beautiful day, and everyone expected to have a great time skiing the popular Tunnel Creek section. Minutes after the first skiers began heading down the…
How many times have you had a conversation when you or the other person said something like: “I’m so worried about the stock market.” “I’m so worried about retirement.” “I’m so worried about the value of my home.” Assuming you have said or heard a derivation of one of these statements, ask yourself a big…
It can be very difficult to separate the good advice from the questionable and the questionable from the downright irresponsible. Unfortunately, good advice doesn’t always walk around wearing a sign, but there are some red flags to help you avoid the so-called advice that’s actually irresponsible. Case in point: What do you think when you…
I confess that for a stretch of time, I convinced myself that having The Economist lying around would make me smarter, even if I never picked it up. Just by being in the same room, I’d somehow learn by osmosis about the news in each issue. Also, I liked having people think of me as…